If you’re a Shaw internet customer you get access to free wifi. This you may already know. However, it can be a problem always having to enter your login information to connect because first, who has time, and secondly, who remembers their Shaw login information!

As a result, as you unassumingly enter a wifi zone, your phone’s data sensors (technical reference) seize up trying to connect to wifi while you’re busy looking up how many calories are in a Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte with an extra shot of spicy pumpkin or what 90s pop band your family is or why your left knee wears your pants out faster than any other part of your legs.

In a fit of impatience, you turn off wifi and forget to turn it back on for three days. As result, your phone bill suffers severe financial consequences and you are forced to re-mortgage your iphone to pay for it. It’s a vicious cycle, my friends, but there is help for you and I am here to share it with you. Follow these simple steps to never login again.

Step 3 – Find your Mac AddressA mac address (media access control) is a universal identification number for your phone’s network adapter. It’s like a VIN number for a car in that every one is unique and every device that accesses the internet has one. Don’t be confused by the name – you don’t need a mac or an apple phone to have a mac address. This number identifies your phone and Shaw remembers it to allow your phone wifi access automatically.

Here’s how to find your mac address on an Android phone:

On the Home screen, tap the Menu button and go to Settings.

Tap About Phone.

Tap Status.

Scroll down to see your WiFi MAC address.

Here’s how to find your mac address on an iPhone:

From the home screen, tap Settings.

Tap General.

Tap About.

Wi-Fi Address is your mac address

To find your mac address on a laptop, follow these instructions. Keep in mind, Never share your mac address, it should be kept secret. Bad people can pretend they are your phone if they get their hands on it.

Step 4 – Enter Mac Address on the Shaw websiteDepending on your Shaw plan, you receive a number of assigned devices you can connect.

Now, you’re in business! Anytime you enter a Shaw wifi zone, you will have instant access! Good luck and happy interneting!

So Many Questions!

Whether you have a busy family with a growing love of idevices or a situation where you have a phone for work and for home, it can tricky managing it all. I know you’ve got questions:

“What happens if I quit my job?”

“What happens when the kids grow up and move out?”

“How many accounts do you need for all of this stuff?”

Let’s sort it out.

One person, one account, one computer

A good rule of thumb to consider when it comes to iTunes is each account should be attached to a person who can support themselves financially. As the family decision maker use your main itunes ID for your family’s account, use your current account, don’t create a new one. At work, continue to use your personal Apple ID for your work iphone or ipad.

This provides you with the ability to make changes, locate devices and maintain general order without having to remember any additional usernames or passwords.

Dedicate one computer as your iTunes computer. Each device gets synced to it. You’ll know what’s on it in addition to having the purchase history.

As your kids grow up and leave home, it’s time for their own account. Music is DRM free so they can copy what they want to take. Their graduation present can include an iTunes gift card to pay out their app and game investments over the years.

Remember: One person, one computer, one account.

Devices change, Stuff remains

As life changes, so will your electronics. Using one Apple ID will allow you to consolidate your music and apps in one account despite changing phones over the long term. You’ll have access to download content you’ve already purchased onto any device you sign into.

This makes the most financial sense from a family perspective too. Whether you share taste in music or not, there is guaranteed to be some overlap.

As devices change, whether you change jobs or lose phones, you can track and wipe them from one iTunes account.

Paying for it all

In a family situation, share your password with everyone and remove your credit card information from your account.

Each member of your family can then add money to your account using iTunes gift cards. Predictably, in this scenario, the owner of the redeemed gift card will rush to download purchases before anyone else discovers there is credit in the account. Or they’ll very purposefully add credit to pay for only the music they need at the time.

For your work devices, buy a gift card and expense it if there are apps you need that are work related.

Hopefully that helps you keep up with the demands of current technology. Any other tips and tricks that you use, leave them in the comments!

We’ve all heard the Social Media marketing buzz and it may well be a valuable tool with direct positive impact on your bottom line. It can just as easily become a productivity drain, a mindless noise generator and the biggest distraction to a communications plan you’ve ever endorsed. If you are going to do it right, consider avoiding these common pitfalls:

Don’t Measure your Success in Followers

If your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are based solely on how many people like or follow you, you may need to reconsider your approach. The reason they like you is more to the point. And if you look deeper at the products or services you offer, the reason they like your product is what you should be truly devoted to. Create goals that revolve around the premise of executing business goals using social, not social for the sake of being popular.

Don’t Beg for Social Favours

Asking people to follow you, like your page, re-tweet or check-in is like telling a story to a friend and asking them to tell someone else. You don’t need to encourage your followers to share your information if your content is great, they simply will without questioning it. If they do share your content upon request, their superficial interest on the subject will be easily detected and your reach will be very limited or your reputation negatively affected. Instead, make your content interesting and awesome, craft story around your product and be inventive. If you resort to giveaways, you’ll assemble a loyal following of freeloaders.

Don’t Peddle Corporate Wares on Facebook

Selling office furniture and chloroplast signage or anything people don’t feel a personal connection to on Facebook is a ridiculous idea – it’s like selling insurance over dinner. If you are selling business to business, social media is probably not an avenue you want to pursue with vigor. Instead, redouble your efforts on a powerful, sales focused website, ensure it’s easy to use and use analytics to improve it.

Don’t be Uninformed

If you don’t know what people are saying about your product or brand, how can you make informed decisions on how to engage socially? Powerful monitoring tools exist that can help you capture conversations in the social sphere that matter to your business. Before jumping in with both feet, find out what discussions are happening and then you’ll know how to add value. Without this insight, it’s all noise.

Social media can be an effective tool in your Marketing toolbox but only with careful deliberation on your goals and creative consideration on your execution. Be mindful of ROI, be a good friend, and always bring your strategy back to the context of existing as a business. If you don’t, you’ll look back on these years and marvel at the amount of time you wasted chasing social approval rather than profit.